Insulin resistance in PCOS may be more common in Mexican Americans than whites. (Separate Screening Values Needed?).

LOS ANGELES -- Insulin resistance in women with polycystic ovary syndrome was more common and more severe in Mexican Americans than whites in a retrospective study of 102 patients.

If larger studies confirm these findings, results of insulin resistance screening tests in women with suspected polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) may need to be interpreted based on the patient's ethnicity, Dr. Robert P. Kauffman said at the annual meeting of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation.

PCOS, the most frequent cause of anovulatory infertility, is characterized by hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance in most cases. The investigators compared serum insulin, glucose, testosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone levels in 19 control women who had normal ovulatory cycles and 83 women who were evaluated for possible PCOS. All women had normal glucose tolerance and no other endocrine disorders. Screening results came from fasting serum samples taken in the early proliferative phase, followed by an oral glucose load and blood samples drawn 1, 2, and 3 hours later.

Forty women were diagnosed with PCOS and insulin resistance. A total of 34 had PCOS without insulin resistance, and 9 had irregular menstrual cydes but no PCOS or other endocrine disorder, he said in a poster presentation at the meeting.

Sixty-five of the study participants were white, and 37 were Mexican American.

Women with insulin resistance had a significantly higher mean body mass index; higher scores on two indicators of insulin resistance, fasting insulin values and the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA); and lower mean ...